by Button Mash Team
With the Titanfall Beta well underway, gamers are busy jetpacking through dilapidated structures, dodging giant robots, and piloting them. We've learned much from our few days with the game, including game modes, character customization, and more. Here's what we know:
MAPS
The beta currently features only two maps, both ones we've seen before in promotional footage.
"Fracture" features a wide open plain, dotted with the ruins of once great mansions and buildings. This location allows for Titans to move about more easily, rather than the narrow streets of the Angel City map. On-foot players have to contend with the distinct lack of cover between these structures, dodging Titan gunfire, or just their huge feet. This also makes you vulnerable to sniper fire, something that's almost impossible to do in Angel City.
"Angel City" provides players with the complete opposite experience. Rather than open pastures and wide halls, Angel City is very much a room to room fight. With the ability to jetpack through windows, you can turn the tide of battle in a matter of seconds against an enemy that's grown to comfortable with sticking in one spot.
Titans have it even tougher. You'll be gently strolling down one street looking for enemy Titans only to find yourself face to face with one coming around the corner. This makes firefights much more intense, if a little repetitive.
Titans
With three classes of Titans to choose from (Assault, Tank, Demolition) you'll be able to find a play style that likely suits you. Titans, which replace the ability to jump with a drifting ability, are incredibly formidable against human enemies. Against opposing Titans is another story, as one wrong move can put you firmly in the emergency ejection sequence, provided you aren't already blown to smithereens.
Aside from your primary weapon, Titans can fire a barrage of rockets that deal incredible amounts of damage if they connect. You can also use the Titan's shield ability to deflect incoming fire and direct it right back at your enemy. This makes for some hilarious and fun back-and-forth between Titans vying for that last drip of health.
Game Modes
"Attrition" is your standard team deathmatch. Each human-controlled ally receives at least one Titan per match. They'll also drop sooner if you kill more enemies, providing an incentive to be aggressive. At the end of each match, the losing team is tasked with retreating to an incoming escape ship. Match winners can kill off fleeing enemies for more points, while losing players race against an incredibly short clock to make it home, all while winding through narrow alleys and jumping over rooftops.
"Last Titan Standing" pits six versus six players against each other, each with their own starting Titan. Once you're defeated, that's it. No respawn, no extra Titan. This makes it a very careful, calculated use of your extra firepower, as running around as a human after ejecting is almost always certain death.
"Hardpoint" is your standard base capture mode, with three bases. In matches that are already fairly intense, spreading out teammates between bases requires careful strategy.
Player Customization
You'll be able to outfit your Titan pilot to your hearts content, mechanically at least. No cosmetic changes for now, save gender swapping.
Much like Call of Duty, you can switch primary and secondary weapons between rifles, shotguns, sniper rifles, and pistols. One particular favorite seems to be the smart pistol, which requires a lengthy lock-on, but guarantees a damaging blow.
"Burn Cards" provide a change of pace to each player's match, allowing them to activate special abilities. We've seen cards that allow a pilot to run and heal faster, gain more experience for killing other human players, and swap weaponry out for even more terrifying options. These cards are a one time deal, though, making your decision to use it that much more calculated.
Joe's Thoughts
I've lost so many matches in Titanfall, and I couldn't care less. The game is that fun. After a brief tutorial that managed to remind me how awkward it can be to play on PC, I jumped straight in Attrition. I prefer Fracture, but Angel City provides an equally cool experience. There's nothing like jumping through a second story window, wall running across an adjacent building, and jumping through another second story window, then snapping some pilot's neck. Pure catharsis.
Titans are a blast, and the ability to play at least one each match negates any sense of total loss. It's usually always possible to turn the tide of battle. I say this as someone who abhors COD.
It's worth mentioning that melee combat with Titans is a complete bore, though. With one or two punching animations, I found myself drifting backwards more often than going in for any kill. It's easier and more entertaining to just shoot up an enemy Titan, which is sad because I really, really want to fastball a pilot.
Kaegan's Thoughts
This past weekend, I was a Titan hunter. Running off a roof, with my Titan called in on the ground below, I was ready to do battle. Surrounded by two enemy Titans, I let my Titan hold its position while I began to attack the enemy with a range of weapons and abilities. This crazy, frenetic game play is what makes Titanfall so great.
I enjoyed Titan piloting but for me, being on the ground and rolling around with my Titan close behind became more like a big brother, little brother experience. I wanted to protect my Titan at all costs and that Titan watched my back more than once. Really, I can't wait to see what new strategies are formed.
Myself, and other players have to relearn how to play a shooter after playing Titanfall. The mobility of the pilots is easy to learn but difficult to master. Player strategies are starting to emerge though like mine, roving and looking for Titans. Some would rather be in the Titan as much as possible while others stay strictly on foot. It's these new kind of experiences that have me excited for Titanfall next month.
Lucas's Thoughts
Take any entry in the Call of Duty series within the last seven years, replace killstreaks with gun-wielding mechs, and add jump packs. At its core, this is what Titanfall is, and yes, it's a refreshing entry in the shooter genre.
The AI soldiers scattered around the map can largely be ignored as they serve only as a threat to your
But Titanfall is at its best when you're behind the wheel of a mech. Fighting other mechs plays like a game of gun-fu, with mechs dodging shots, firing missles, and throwing them right back at one another. All the while crushing foot soldiers and pilots like ants.
The full game needs to have more things to unlock and a few more game modes, then Titanfall will have all the qualities of a great, AAA shooter.
Photo Credit: INCgamers.com
